So you think your password is safe...

At this time of year many "lists" are being prepared. And, one of the recurring lists we see in the technology world is the "worst password list". User password control is often the very first level of access to computer system resources and sometimes we just don't take enough care with making them that little bit harder to foil the ardent hacker. There is the ever-present threat of unauthorised access to computer networks (refer to Dec 10, 2012, media reports on the Gold Coast Miami Medical Centre being held to ransom by hackers who gained access to patient records) access to computer resources is made is easier by simple passwords. Have a look at the worst 25 passwords of  2012, published by SplashData, who compiled the list from the millions of online postings of stolen passwords. We all know we should use longer passwords with special characters, capitalisation variation, include numbers, but then that just makes it a little bit harder to remember doesn't it!  But, make yourself a pre-New Years resolution....I will change my password, I will make it more complex, I will, I will..... SplashData - 25 Worst Passwords of 2012.

Some of the entries on the list include (and I bet you've already scanned ahead or already guessed): password, 123456, iloveyou, letmein, master.

Independent Assessment Validation for RTOs

I tuned into an industry webinar session this week to catch up with further changes ahead for the VET sector – this time in relation to the introduction of external or 'independent' validation of assessments for Registered Training Organisations. For many years now, there has been a requirement for RTOs to moderate and validate their assessment resources and training outcomes, aiming at ensuring that VET qualifications were providing quality outcomes for students and industry.  External and independent validation seems to be the next step 'up' in bringing the necessary voracity to the VET profession, and is being introduced as part of the Federal “Skills for all Australians” campaign.

"There is more to do to lift quality as the next phase of reform is implemented. The quality of the teaching workforce needs to be raised, and the employer confidence in assessment practice needs to be improved."  (Skills for All Australians Overview)

For further information - http://www.dpmc.gov.au/publications/skills_for_all_australians/chapter1_overview.html

IIT Successfully Combines RTO and ISO Certifications in our Business Practices!

Keeping up to date as a Registered Training Organisation is an ongoing challenge in this ever-developing VET world. IIT has been an RTO since 2004, and we leapt into this VET space as we felt that being an active member in the formal training and education space was an important part of presenting the best services we could to our clients, current and potential! We already had a Quality Management System in place (ISO9001) and so felt we had valuable experience in measuring service deliverables and meeting quality standards.

Our trainers were (in 2004) qualified to the level of Certificate IV Workplace Training and Assessment, and over the years, we have maintained currency to ensure we now have TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment across our training (and administrative) professional team members.

Our systems were already geared towards meeting standards: firstly our own internal policies and procedures. ISO requires us to examine our processes and outputs to meet their quality standards, measure our compliance, improve and then measure again. So we already knew how to map policies and procedures to the relevant external standards, and where we find gaps, to remediate! This is not new. All good businesses are mindful of meeting standards as set down by various relevant regulation and legislation, depending on the type of business. I think the trick is to do it formally, measure performance on a regular basis, and then look for innovative ways to incorporate change and growth. This can then form the basis of a continuous improvement cycle.

It is not so much time-consuming as it is a discipline in staying focused on the details of effective business process and procedure. Thus the model we have established is founded on flexibility, self-evaluation and continuous improvement. So, the challenge of maintaining these two certifications within our business model has been met over the years – sometimes not easily, but always providing huge rewards, we feel, for our stakeholders.

It is very rare for organisations to hold both of these qualifications, and for more information on Registered Training Organisations, see the Australian Skills Quality Authority website at www.asqa.gov.au, and for information on ISO9001, visit http://www.saiglobal.com/Information/Standards/